Flat Out Strangers Logo

You know about the Flat Out Strangers, right? Well, if not, that's OK. They're the South's most dangerous, mysterious, yet most-revered rockabilly/country/americana/bluegrass bands around. Don't just take my word for it - listen at www.myspace.com/flatoutstrangers or visit their new site at www.flatoutstrangers.com. It's great to see these guys doing well — I remember the neighborhood gigs that scared the living daylights out of the neighbors, the live and rockin' recording at "Jake's Fill Er Up" (which proved to the world that they are the bada**es of Rockabilly), to the shows at Doc's Gumbo Grill and many others. These guys are original as they come, and they needed a design that reflected that. Something mysterious, something bold, yet timeless. Tall order, but a great challenge. Here's where I started:

A rough sketch below: Letterforms that have character - something that looked from the late 1800's, but with a modern twist. Hand-drawn and hand-crafted. A few embellishments here and there, but not too ornamental or too decorative. A touch of the Old West, a hint of the eclectic, a good dose of authenticity.

Refinement on the letterforms and the individual swashes:

And the final:

And an avatar/monogram design:

Check ’em out at their next show or become a fan on Facebook:

http://tinyurl.com/2ffn66e

Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish, performed by The Benedict Colle...

"Double"

A little illustration I did for Illustration Friday (a weekly illustration challenge), based on the single word "double". This double used to be a triple. Be happy with a double. Don't be greedy.

Creatures Observed - Backyard 6/21/10

I couldn't get a good shot of the chicks, so I decided to do a quick sketch instead.
Update: As of June 27, the chicks are not in nest. Hopefully, they have flown the coop successfully. After some research, I've found that these birds love to eat bees and wasps! After they shred the stingers off, of course.

Tanager nest - three chicks spotted in nest yesterday. Hopefully more photos to come.

Male Tanager checking out the activity surrounding the nest.

Female Tanager tending the nest. She's a beautiful yellow-green.

I'm outta here!

Common box turtle that visited, but that had no patience for my observation.

Red daylily

Reddish Stag Beetle: This guy was cool - and surprisingly pretty mellow. I'm happy that the image shows off the color and texture of the exterior shell.

OK, not looking that mellow here.

Copywriter and proofreader needed

IMG_1920_d&d, originally uploaded by wryonedwards.

if…

Sometimes things appear in the most unexpected places. If this had been more obvious, it would have jumped out of the water and bit me. Which is something that crossed my mind while paddling down the calm Cedar Creek in the Congaree National Park/Swamp. We saw 300-year old bald cypress trees and tupelos, dragonflys, fishing spiders, jumping fish, and numerous snakes. Will and I paddled a little too close to a brown water snake that was hanging out on a branch above. A little too close for me, but we gently cruised on by and all was well.

But seeing this word appearing out of the water is what made the trip even better. A slanted lower case “i” (complete with the dot) and a perfectly positioned upper case “F”. Perfect. And living there in perfect harmony in nature as if it were asking us to complete the sentence. iF ...

Maybe you had to be there, but for me, it was fantastic. I've been trying to complete the sentence ever since.

Thanks to Jeff McGurk for the shot for me (and for organizing the trip). Let's go back soon and see what else we can discover.

Persuasive Design from Mr. Albers

Persuasive Percussion Volume 3 was created and produced by Enoch Light and was released by Command Records in 1960. I believe it is the final album produced of the series. The far-out, stereophonic sound is pretty groovy and the recording is a great listen — an “ear-opening” experience.

But I must confess — I love this album more for the design and typography. I found this album at a Goodwill store a couple of years ago and was drawn in by the elegant design. I immediately saw that is was designed by none other than Josef Albers, the well-known Bauhaus artist and designer, who came to the US in the 1940’s and taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. He and his wife Ani then moved on to New Haven, CT where Albers became the head of the Design Department at Yale University in the ’50s. He is known as an accomplished painter, designer, typographer, printmaker and poet.

This cover design perfectly represents what you can expect on the album — modern, experimental sounds that are timeless; musical compositions that will delight the listener. The design uses many elements in such a powerful way: order, contrast, tension, balance, scale, space, shape and color. It is well thought out and meticulously crafted. It certainly conveys the mood and style of the album, which makes me think about how similar music and design are, and how they share many elements. It also reminds me how important it is for design to reflect content, not the other way around.

Thank you Mr. Albers, for the inspiration. I'm off to look for Volume 1 and 2.


The only thing that bugs me about the cover is the excessive space between “Persuasive” and “Percussion”. Unless the intention was to lead your eye down into the design. Hmmm.

Shameless self-promotion — right there in 18pt type. Bold. Caps.


I really like the script type here. Beautiful!